Manitoba
The journey from Carlyle, SK to Reston, MB was very straight forward. The winds were not being particularly evil, and the very very flat land of eastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba made didn't hurt either. Along the way I ran into news of Matt and Eric, but didn't manage to meet up with them. Oh, well. The stay in Reston lasted longer than I had originally anticipated. I negotiated a free stay in the community Campground, and when I woke up the following day, the prarie winds were up to their old tricks and just flat out said no way. For two days I chatted with locals, met fellow campers, including a rather nice girl who was researching local bottany. And eventually decided that enough was enough and left in spite of the icky headwind. After all, I was on a bike trip, not a camping trip.
The ride against the wind to Souris was very tiring and when I finally arrived in Souris, I knocked on doors until a very kind young woman allowed me to camp in her backyard. The next day I travelled around the community of Souris for a few hours, which is very charming with it's swinging bridge and then set out east then north back to the TransCanada highway. The finaly destination was a backyard in Portage La Prarie, where I was once again fed, showered and put up in the backyard. On the following day, the ride to Winnepeg was mostly uneventful until I arrived at the ring road circling the city. Within about 20 minutes away from town my rear wheel broke apart and I ground to a rather abrupt halt.
Sure enough, within moments a passing family and their motor home pulled over and offered me and my damaged bike a lift into town.
I stayed in Winnepeg for most of a week with family, then set out again, determined to make it to the Ontario border in a single bound.
Ha.... Yeah right.
I fought the winds for about two hours, gave up and sat in a truck stop for most of the rest of the day. By the time I got going again, it was definitely evening, and I needed a place to stay. Ste. Anne was as far as I got that night. The mosquitos were absolutely ridiculous, and I couldn't get to sleep whatsoever. I spent hours cycling around the small french community trying to avoid bugs and find a suitable place to stay. At some point during the night I saw an abulance rush past me off to the aid of some poor Ste. Annian. Jumping back on the bike I followed the ambulance, arriving only a few moments after it. And, after a brief conversation with the nurses and administrators, they allowed me to sleep on the floor of the patient lounge. I was so relieved.
The next day was beautiful and calm. After a quick breakfast, I met a woman who invited me for a shower and even fed me some more. At which point I was refreshed, energized and ready for anything. I was blissfully unaware of what kind of challenge was coming at me next. Of course, it was Ontario.
Next Province - Ontario